Pawlitics as usual – The walk

City day! I always wake up refreshed after a good night’s sleep in a warm bed. This morning I washed almost everything in my backpack. Dressed in my rain kit look from head to toe, I cleaned my sleeping mat and tent while my clothes were in the washing machine.

The group and I talked about the next section of the trail and strategized how many meals and snacks would take place on the trail. The moment the dryer bell rang, we headed into town for breakfast.

Idyllwild is the ideal place to be this weekend. The merger of hikers arriving from Devil’s Slide and those arriving from PVC brings together a great group. Additionally, there is a festival in town with vendors and volunteers from PCT-related organizations.

We went to the thrift store to look for city clothes. They had a lot to choose from, but nothing convinced me. I’m looking for the perfect city dress. Something simple and light with maybe some crazy pattern to keep things interesting.

After a couple more errands, we headed to the trail festival. It was a small gathering, but I was able to catch up with many other hikers and meet many more. Some of the vendors offered free gifts, such as noso patches and trail mix. We met Mayor Max, who was on his best behavior posing for pictures with all of us. The hosting equipment store, Nomad Ventures, was doing a free raffle and I won! I wanted to add a sitting platform to my setup and it turned out to be one of the prizes!

On our way back home we turned towards the Argentine arcade. The moment I walked in I saw it. A karaoke machine!!! We asked the owner if a large group of us could come later and she very kindly offered to open it up for us when we were ready.

I planned to buy some salad to feed the crowd and get resupplies at the local market. Wandering through the city market with minimal planning and limited options was overwhelming, to say the least. I prepared a sort of meal plan for the next 3 days that would take me to Cabazon.

To conclude our rest day in Idyllwild, we painted our nails pink, got temporary tattoos, and cooked a potluck fit for a team full of hungry hikers. Straight Up made an amazing homemade barbecue sauce for pork ribs. Texas knows how to do it right. There was so much food that we treated Dundee, Care Bear, and the crew before parting ways to return to our different points along the trail.

We hope Floki and Penguin feel strong on their walk from PVC to San Jacinto. They are planning to take the tram to Palm Springs to avoid the drop off and then go to I-10 to meet us. The timing doesn’t coincide perfectly with our departure from Idyllwild at Devil’s Slide, so we’ll take it easy the next few days until we meet again.

Unfortunately we didn’t make it to karaoke. A large group stayed here until 8:30 (well past midnight hikers) and some of us were tired and wanted to clean up and get ready for tomorrow’s hike. We’ll make it happen in Big Bear.

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